In my house, Fridays are generally “Leftover Day”! Since, Saturdays are when I go to the markets, and Mondays are usually the day I go to the supermarket, to organize all the weekly meals better. This forces me to be super creative with the remaining ingredients I have at the end of the week, and most times when I create my best recipes! This quiche is one of them. I opened the refrigerator, and saw: 1 medium sweet pepper, 1 onion, some goat cheese (which HAD to consumed today), 3 mushrooms and some mozzarella. I had no eggs (a classic ingredient in a quiche), but that didn’t stop me. I also had some leftover pastry from an empanada batch I made earlier in the week. With all this in hand, I decided to mix everything and make a quiche. Without knowing how would turn out, I cut my first slice and took a bit, and to my pleasure, it was amazing! This is the second time I make it on a Friday and I this time I had to share it! I love when recipes come to me naturally and organically, they are usually my best. Don’t be afraid to try mixing things that had not been mixed before … taking risks in the kitchen is (usually) pleasantly surprising!

Fennel is one of those vegetables I don’t use enough. It’s crunchy, slightly sweet and adds freshness to most salads or dishes, and the best part is that it’s now in season! Like it’s fellow spices (parsley, dill, coriander and celery) its very high in antioxidants, it supports your immune system because of its high content content of vitamin C, and its a great source of fiber!

To select Fennel in a store, make sure that the bulbs are clean, firm and solid, without signs of splitting, bruising or spotting. The bulbs should be whitish or pale green in color. The stalks should be relatively straight and closely superimposed around the bulb and should not splay out to the sides too much. Both the stalks and the leaves should be green in color. There should be no signs of flowering buds as this indicates that the vegetable is past maturity. Fresh fennel should have a fragrant aroma, smelling subtly of licorice or anise. Store fresh fennel in the refrigerator crisper, where it should keep fresh for about four days. Yet, it is best to consume fennel soon after purchase since as it ages, it tends to gradually lose its flavor.

This Fennel Coconut Tart combines the sweetness and freshness of the fennel with coconut milk, crimini mushrooms and Smoked Paprika Salt from Salt Traders CR (which adds a wonderful smokey flavor that I adore!). The crust is gluten free and made from cauliflower! Don’t miss savory sweet delight!

I’m from Argentina, and in Argentina quiche is a must in most households. We make many variations of it, usually involving spinach, onions, and/or butternut squash (for the vegetarian versions), or they are a combination of anything leftover in the fridge. I really like quiche, I find them delicious, quick to make, easy to store and good to take. Since in my house, we are only 2, I like to make mini versions of each quiche, so we can take them anywhere, and also so we don’t get bored with one.

To make homemade quiche the dough is very important. I make my mine from Spelt Flour, but you can also make it with whole-wheat flour, rice flour or unbleached white flour.